Himeji

On roughly the fourth day in Japan, we took a day trip to visit the famous Japanese castle in Himeji. The long two hour train trip flew by as we all listened to music and told jokes. Our moods were all upbeat upon arrival and I began to navigate us up the main street to the amazing Himeji Castle at the end.

The Castle itself was like something out of a movie set. Its levels grew higher and higher as you went deeper in the castle. The wooden floorboard, low ceilings and frighteningly steep ladders inside reminded us that it could only belong to the Japanese. Inside were many artefacts which had been preserved in order to give us a more in-depth experience of the culture from hundreds of years ago when the castle was in use. Since we had all split up into small groups to explore the castle at our own pace, we organized a meeting spot back at the base to return to.

The views from the top level were amazing allowing us to see the entire city of Himeji and beyond to the Horizon. This castle was like none we had ever seen before. The moat which could just be seen from the castle encircled many houses as well as the castle and this was due to people wanting there houses built within the protection of Himeji Castle. Upon finishing the self-guided tours, Tom and I went into a souvenir shop and bought a plastic ‘soccer ball’ which gave us a heap of fun as the group joined in to kick it around on a grass patch. I think everyone felt extremely fresh whilst there and we were all laughing into the video camera which caught glimses of the good times.

Lunch included a Japanese restaurant with views of Himeji castle from the top floor. As we ate in the hard-to-adjust-to seated positions at the tables we enjoyed miso soup and udon noodles. Being in such a good mood, I struggled to eat because I was laughing so frequently. Instead of returning to Kyoto for dinner, friends had offered us a trip to their home just outside Osaka.

While there, she treated our fifteen strong group to fresh McDonald’s burgers to our great surprise. My views of her house was it was immaculately clean and presented much like the rest of Japan. One of the traditions within Japanese Buddhist families is to respect any family members who have passed away, with a series of phrases you chant in unison whilst kneeling at a small alter. The moment was powerful. It grew late and we needed to get some dinner into us and head back to our hotel in Kyoto.

However the day was not over, we arranged a dinner in Osaka for this was the only time we could experience this large city. In my opinion it was unbelievable, bustling with people, energy, high rises and enormous shops. A shop I went into called Yodobashi was the largest department store for electronics I have ever seen despite having experienced California.

Tom, Jack, Nick, Tom and I half ran up the floors screaming the things we would buy. After this large period of free time and dinner we met back at the Osaka station. The train trip back was a long tiring one however it was still free from complaints. The rest of the night was quiet as we collapsed in our hotel rooms to prepare for the next day’s trip to Tokyo. This jam-packed day was incredibly fun to lead with so many exciting events. This day was definitely a highlight for me in the trip.